Adebayor made the surprise move to join Arsenal from AS Monaco in January 2006 for a reported £7 million.

The Togo international had been excluded from the Monaco team for repeatedly missing training and he had a difficult relationship with Monaco coach Francesco Guidolin.

Adebayor had burst onto the scene in France in 2001/02 with FC Metz, but he impressed the following term when scoring 13 goals. It was that form, when still aged 17, which attracted the interest of Monaco.

But 21 goals and two-and-a-half seasons later Adebayor was on his way out of Ligue 1 bound for the Premiership.

Adebayor was also part of the Monaco side which reached the final of the Champions League in 2003/04, the same season he was named Togolese Footballer of the Year.

The striker fired Togo to the World Cup finals for the first ever time in 2006, bagging 11 goals in qualifying making him the leading scorer in Africa.

However, his troubles at Monaco spilled into the international arena shortly after he signed for Arsenal. He linked up with Togo for the African Cup of Nations but was left out of the starting line-up for the opener against the Democratic Republic of Congo after a fall-out with coach Stephen Keshi.

Rows over bonus payments have blighted his international career, but Adebayor remains the best ever player to come out of Togo.

Though he appeared very raw at times in his early appearances there was enough to suggest he would become an asset for the north London club and his first season was relatively successful.

Which leads us up to today !

Ade was successful at 17, it always seems he tries ‘initially’ and is shrouded in controversy at every club he has ever joined, he has drive and ambition in his body somewhere, but once he is on the ‘gravy train’ its obvious to me he takes his foot off the pedal.

So what was Wengers reasoning in getting the TT to start with?

The Grimster strikes again????

One can only think because he was playing in Ligue 1 France … HO HUM! Wengers infamous hunting ground.. (Which is getting one dimensional if you ask me?).

I suppose that was enough for Wenger to see if he could step up into the rigors of English football, and the EPL . Which for 4 months i think he did!

The season 07-08 from August to December saw him score 19 goals in 4 months and for a short period of time he even got one over on Ronaldo. That definitely was Ade’s only high point in his time at Arsenal for me, I think for the rest of the time he was just riding the wave of a 4 month success period.

It was enough to ensure a better pay deal for the next season, and hold the club at ransom whilst flirting with AC Milan and anyone else his agent could muster up to ensure the new wage pitch at the end of the 07/08 season ended up on Ade’s plate prior to kick off 08/09 season.

His poor performances at the start of the season, the fans booing about his loyalty issues spelled the start of the end for his career at Arsenal. All those Ade fans going quiet was one of the most joyous times of my life… It seems you can play as shit as you want for ALL of 2008, with a 10-11 game goal scoring drought, but the second you start flirting with other clubs the fans start riding you.

Cesc Beware!

This article isn’t about kicking Ade whilst he’s down, he has done that by himself. However, if he leaves, then so be it … I’ll personally wave him off at the airport (or tube station) And hopefully by the time this post has aired, Ade will already be on his way to the Chavs so someone else can pay him 80-110 k a week for being Off-side …

I hope Chelsea enjoy the 4 months of good football Ade will give them, it’ll all be down hill after that!

Well I think you’re both way off. and yes i do agree that you can tell by the eyes. and i think Ade’s is clearly a grimmace… But hey I can see we disagree there, so we’ll leave it at that. Given that none of us are experts on facial expressions or visual traits (I assume)

But yes I do think that our biggest problem last year was psychological. For instance, how easy is it to tell, as an Arsenal fan, when we are going to concede a goal?

Stu, yes i agree, if we continue playing them before they’re ready, the team will just get physically dominated. This is why unbelievable talent such as Wilshere, Merida, just need to be developed physically. Because if we are patient, they can become world class

Honest: Oh it definately easy to see when are going to concede! I remember Villa away this season and more heartbreakingly, liverpool away. Sat in the stand, eve after AA had smashed his 4th in, i had that horrible feeling.

Yes Jay. I wasn’t at the game but even though it was at 90mins, It was just painfully obvious.

That’s what annoys me the most. It is irksome knowing that, any time teams feel like scoring against us, all they have to do is apply a little pressure and the whole team crumbles, you can see it visibly happening.

too damn easy, Bill – it is easy to see when the defence is folding, there is a leader (Billy) but certain players have issues with following him (Kolo, JD), IMO…

you have to blame the midfield as well, ‘cuz they are the most guilty of entering the pitch against ‘lesser’ teams thinking they are so good the opposition have already bricked themselves twice, which is not the case, actually the older players want to bully the shit out of the ‘babies’ from the start…

Yes SUGA3, i couldn’t agree more. And that is another thing that pisses me off, when we begin games with that complacent attitude. Some games from last season went by with nobody even bothering to go for the 50/50 balls, nobody ever pushing themselves to win, nobody taking responsibility

their complacency comes from Wenger heaping the praise on them without using too much discipline, which must end up with a bunch of spoilt brats chucking toys out of the pram every time something goes wrong…

SUGA3 i don’t think that wenger constantly praises them. He’s not an angry barking nut if that’s what you mean but such people command more respect. I’m sure he points out the players’ mistakes to them and will get angry at them occasionally like some of the ex-players have told us. He just doesn’t abuse them in front of the media like Mourhino. Have yet to meet a soft football coach who’s effective.

The complacency i think stems from the pay cheques. As for Diaby’s performances i think that’s lesser because of Wenger’s attitude towards him than himself. How much did berba work for man u even though its an integral part of their game. He was given many chances too. Anyway all this is speculation we don’t know what happens in training. Also don’t men get grumpy with age?

I think Melo is better than Gilberto, at least offensively. Defensively they look about even.

Don’t underestimate the importance of Melo’s quality distribution. He would improve our passing game from deep and he can also take on a player and commit them.

Defensively he’s looked mediocre but he looked good for Fiorentina in that department and I would place more stock on that than some crappy 2 bob tournament in South Africa at the end of a long season.

under normal circumstances something around 10 million should be enough.But its nearly impossbile to buy a player for a normal amount.Thanks to the likes to chelsea and city.I mean look at veloso.He is playin for sporting in portugal hardly the best league in the world.Isn’t even a regular fr the national team and they want aaround 15-20 for him

Kelsey, you bully. I seem to recall you being somewhat if a dog expert. Im trying to switch my dog from wet food to dry foot, to benifit both him and me. Got any advice ion how to do it because he just wont eat the nuts.

He looks ok, but I havent even seen him make a tackle yet, his passing is mostly crab ball although there have been a few forward passes that have found their target and a few that have been cut out. Oh and he picked up a studpid yellow for being a gobby twat.

Hate to say it guys but his performance and general persona remind me of early season Song.

Definately not worth 15m based on the 2 and half games I have seen him in. Should have got Barry for 12m. Hope you know what you are doing Arsene.

Flamini may be more suited to English football but I would prefer Melo.

Natural physical presence, imposing, which means he doesn’t even need to make crunching tackles to command that area, he just naturally does. When Chelsea began dominating that match against us at Wembley in the second half, they did it by clever positioning on the pitch and using their natural physicality, they didn’t even make any crunching tackles.

I think the addition of Melo would only be a good thing for the upcoming season. A player like Melo gives us the support that we’ve missed really since Flamini left, where we’ve had to rely on patchy performances from Denilsong. Melo is consistent, tough like Flamini but has better vision, his passing is immense, and has some pace about him too.
He would give our defence protection but also looks as though he would push forward effectively along side Fabregas giving him much needed support if we played a 4-4-2.

It’s about time that FIFA brought in goal line technology… you would think what with all the millions being spent on players that Seb Blatter & Co would have had a scheme introduced by now.. not that I’m supporting Brazil but it stands to reason that there was a fix put in place to endure that these goals are not discounted!!

Kelsey, you bully. I seem to recall you being somewhat if a dog expert. Im trying to switch my dog from wet food to dry foot, to benifit both him and me. Got any advice ion how to do it because he just wont eat the nuts.
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Right Stu,
let me try to translate that,no can’t, but i will need to ask some questions.

a) what do you mean by wet food,do you mean tinned dog food perhaps.
b) why do you want to change to dry foot,sorry dry food.
c)Is the dog male or a bitch
d) is the dog diabetic
e)is the dog overweight for his/her age
f) does the dog get regular exercise,if not why not ?

Yeah, he is used to wet food (not tinned but packeted).
a) I mean dry food as in…peples is the best i can describe it.
b) i want ton change because 1) its cheaper 2) its easier to dispence 3) its easier to clean up 4) everyone tells me its better for the dog.
c) he is a dog 😉
d)the dog is healthy as far as i know, no diseases
e) he is the right weight for his breed and age.
f) he gets regular exercise with a football. No walks because he is currently injured

Yes, generally it is better for the dog to have dry food and if a small to medium size dog,feed him one full tumbler a day.Check with the vet if he is diabetic first,as many dogs are.
Currently injured ? or is that a wind up,or has he got groin strain.
Anyway,I hope that helps.

Arsenal are seeking advice from their bank about the viability of a rights issue among shareholders that could allow the club to wipe out a significant chunk of their £318 million debt.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport in May, Alisher Usmanov, who owns 25 per cent of shares, has made the proposal and is keen to contribute financially to an idea that would be aimed at freeing up transfer funds for Arsene Wenger.

It also represents a challenge to Stan Kroenke and Danny Fiszman, who are the two main shareholders on the board, to join him in investing more of their own money in the club.

Usmanov has become concerned by the possibility of Arsenal falling further behind Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as the probable challenge next season from Manchester City.

At present, the repayments on the club’s debt are around £20 million per year and are comfortably serviced following the move to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis says the club is “open minded” and the proposal is due to be examined in greater detail at a board meeting this week. A key issue for directors would be whether a rights issue would fit with the club’s long-term model of self-sustainability.

Arsenal are set to make a move for Stuttgart defender Serdar Tasci as Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen his back four once again. Wenger is ready to splash the cash after forking out £10m to sign Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax last week and wants more reinforcements at the back.Tasci, 22, is regarded as one of the best young defenders in Germany and has also been tracked by AC Milan and Juventus after he earned rave reviews last season which saw him force his way into the Germany side.

The Arsenal boss is believed to be a big fan of Tasci who can play in the centre of defence or at right back and the German admits he would relish the chance to play for a bigger club in Europe, saying: “I have the ambition to move clubs one day, but the time and circumstances have to be right for me.

Stuttgart are currently in talks with Tasci to extend his contract, but cannot agree a deal which leaves the door open for Arsenal to clinch his signature.

No, he is actually injured. Something to do with his front right shoulder. He has a problem with his left but the vet fixed that and now he has the same problem in the opposite shoulder. Boxers are supposedly injury prone. Cost a fortune….at least im not paying the bills. 😀

Ethan has long been against the inclusion of Adebayor in the first team and his reasons are well articulated, it is understandable that players who lack passion for the club and aren’t firm in their commitment to playing for the shirt will most probably have a knock on effect on their performances unless they are elite players. Maybe Adebayor has the potential physically, but mentally I don’t believe he has what it takes. The club must move on and so must Adebayor. Thanks for the goals Adebayor and no thanks for the bad attitude and pathetic excuses, the fans have had enough and it’s time to give a more deserving striker a chance to score lots of goals for Arsenal, you have wasted more than your fair share, good luck at your next club, you’ll need it.

Ethan has long been against the inclusion of Adebayor in the first team and his reasons are well articulated, it is understandable that players who lack passion for the club and aren’t firm in their commitment to playing for the shirt
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yes and i think we had a ding – dong over it ..
water under the bridge me olde bean ..

but im glad you have seen the light and i wasnt so worried about his antics off the pitch , because i do think in football the 2 can be separated .. you can be like gallas and be a trouble maker off the pitch but not affect your own personal game .. but then you can also be like ade and just stop trying after you think
your position within the team is secure ..

and like ive always said at 24-25 you cannot just discover your strikers form .. HE WONT ‘EVER’ GET ANY BETTER .. only worse from an age stand point..

if your not of a torres or bojan-pato mold at a young age chances are you are NEVER really going to be a top shelf striker ..

and its something arsenal has sadly missed since
TH14 and his poor season leading up to his sale
and i agree Th14’s last season was poor ..

but th14 new the score 2 years ago , he knew what we are just finding out now .. that this team will never be good enough to challenge..

i do excuse him for the poor form that final season , which has seemed to return to him at barca .. and that tells you something ..

that club turmoil can affect your game ..
but i dont think ade suffers from that he has a bigger ego than Th14 could ever have , and i dont really know why he can substantiate the claim myself .. because he has never looked like fitting into arsenals game plan if you ask me ..

we need technical – skilled players who can pass and fit into the system we play ..

and thats why we need a striker in that mold , so if common sense prevails we will acquire one this transfer window .

and IMHO we need a clinical finisher more so than we need a 1st team DM ..

having watched Felipe Melo de Carvalho in the Confederation Cup a number of times,I wouldn’t exactly call him a defensive midfielder.He thrives on the attacking part of his game,but is left wanting when in defence.

Anyone agree.

Off subject,i was watching a re run of one of our games last season when Ade got sent off,and without fail everytime an arsenal player sees red,the commentator says “this is the x red card since Wenger was in charge.) A pointless statement,considering he is in his 13th season as manager.I have never heard this repetitive tripe about any other team.

Well done ethan,you chose an emotive topic,which spilled over to quite a few other sites.I would say 80% at least want rid of Ade.

i think Clichy get caught out sometimes pushing forward way to much .. sometimes he pulls it out of the bag and comes in with a sliding tackle into touch or scrambles back .. other times he gets pantz’ed ….

im not sure why wenger wants the wing backs to over lap and push up into the final 3rd so much , im convinced thats half of our defensive woes right there ..

Yes Clichy came through the ranks,signed the same day as Senderos as it so happens.

I would argue that Clichy is replaceable,but maybe not for a year or two. I would argue that if you use stats,he accounted more than any other defender to lack of marking or being out of position last season,leading to conceding goals.That doesn’t make him a bad player,but this phrase wing back sometimes back fires when we attack and leave ourselves open to a quick counter attack.

Nah not just yet Ethan, Gibbs isn’t ready yet and I really don’t think Wenger would consider that unless he was absolutely desperate. What two holes would we fill with the money, the only real hole left is alongside Cesc and that should be filled with the Ade money and still have some to spare.

While I agree Clichy gets into awkward position going front, and that he needs to plain do the defending and not think about being a left back cum winger, but what was that about selling RVP, Cesc and Clichy??

We have got one signing which we wanted. We have got one in the pipeline somewhere I am sure. I think we will be back to our best and we can start drawing some observations when the pre season kicks in. Untill then lets just be neutral if not overly supportive.